Operation Christmas Solidarity

While Christmas is for most people a joyful holiday, for migrants without leave to remain – and those supporting them – it is a time of fear and uncertainty.

Charities and other organisations are sadly well-versed in bracing themselves for a sharp rise in demand for crisis services at this time of year, as asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants (as well as British citizens) face homelessness and benefits disruption over the festive period, with less capacity to respond and many organisations closed for the holidays.

Compounding the crisis is the annual pre-Christmas purge that UKBA seem to consider to be a seasonal tradition. With remarkable consistency, UKBA ramp up their attempts to forcibly remove migrants in late December, in a manner that reeks of end-of-year targets. UKBA are also keenly aware that it is much harder to fight deportations at this time of year because lawyers, support organisations and the courts are overwhelmed with emergency cases before the courts close for Christmas. The High Court and Upper-Tier Tribunal are backed-up with applications for emergency relief – a life-saving measure for those seeking safety but who have been let down by the asylum system. This means people fall through the cracks – people in desperate need of protection. A similar picture can be seen with emergency applications (Rule 39) to the European Court of Human Rights – hard enough to access at the best of times.

The mechanics of the deportation machine also put lives at risk, as detainees are moved endlessly between detention centres. Adebowale, a Nigerian seeking asylum because of religious persecution and who has serious health concerns, has been moved from Harmondsworth to Colnbrook, back to Harmondsworth and now to Morton Hall. His health care and legal case have been severely disrupted.

Individuals facing imminent forced removal who are detained away from London are routinely moved to a detention centre near London (often with a stop overnight at a short-term holding facility along the way) one or two days before the flight, with potentially disastrous consequences for co-ordinating last-minute applications for injunctions/judicial reviews. This is exacerbated if the move is cross-border, from Scotland to England. The legal aid bureaucracy is a yet further obstacle to the pressing need for swift and decisive legal action.

So whilst many workers wind down for the festivities, those fighting for justice in asylum and immigration cases are even more pressured at this time of year. People facing removal are often extremely pro-active in doing all they can in their case, but in detention they are also reliant on lawyers, NGOs and campaigners in the outside world, and can feel helpless and panicked. Detention deepens this anxiety, restricting communication and imposing isolation.

Not a cheery festive message from NCADC, then? Perhaps not, but the intensity of crisis campaigning at this time of year exposes the extraordinary nature of anti-deportation campaigning. The extreme cynicism of UKBA in all its inhumanity is met with inspirational commitment from campaigners, supporters and lawyers working round the clock to stop injustices taking place. The oppressive deportation machine is halted when one asylum seeker is listened to, and one flight is stopped.

When resources for resistance seem at their most stretched, solidarity is of paramount importance. We look forward to another year of fighting for the rights and dignity of all migrants.